Are you a child of a Holocaust survivor?

In summer 2025, the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS) at Ramapo College convened two roundtable meetings for the children of Holocaust survivors. We sought insight into the needs of this important and underserved cohort and advice regarding the types of programs they desire most. This work increases in significance daily, as the survivor generation sadly, if inevitably diminishes in numbers.

We welcome new members to join our growing group, participate in our events and workshops, and advise about the scope of programs we will offer in the future. Please email holgen@ramapo.edu for more information and to participate.

CHGS hopes, in the future, to build upon these programs to serve other communities touched by genocide and generational trauma in a manner suited specifically to them. If you belong to such a community and would like to partner with CHGS, please email Dr. Jacob Ari Labendz at holgen@ramapo.edu.

Five-Part Workshop for Children of Survivors

Presenting Your Family’s Survival Story

Sign Up Now
(Only five spaces remain)

Let’s Talk

A Semi-Structured Discussion Circle for the Children of Holocaust Survivors

Join us for our first meeting on October 21, 2025 from 12:00 – 2:00 pm
In-person only at Ramapo College / RSVP to holgen@ramapo.edu

Meetings will be led by Dr. Marshall Harth, a member of our “Children of the Holocaust” group and a retired professor of clinical psychology at Ramapo College. Lori Myers, a member of our group and a professor at Ramapo, will also join to share her expertise in working through Holocaust legacies through literature and theater.

A light lunch will be served. Email in advance with dietary restrictions or commitments.

Upcoming Events of Interest

Foundational Concepts: Holocaust Trauma and Postmemory

Dr. Marianne Hirsch, Columbia University

September 18, 2025 at 5:30 pm
Trustees Pavilion 1 or via Zoom with Registration

In this lecture, Marianne Hirsch will discuss how her thinking about the intergenerational transmission of memories of violent  histories has  shifted, particularly after October 7, 2023.  Hirsch’s conceptualization of what she has called “postmemory”—based on family memories of surviving the Holocaust–  initially focused on the inheritance and perpetuation of trauma. In this talk, she will explore the reparative potentials of memory through the work of several artists who open-up the past and reframe its debilitating legacies. Memory art, Hirsch will suggest, can become a transformative practice of communal repair and a platform of social solidarity.

This is part of our Foundational Concept Series, which re-introduces the foundational terms and concepts of Holocaust and Genocide Studies with specific attention to new trends and emerging perspectives.

Holocaust and Genocide Education Today:
Challenges and Opportunities

November 17, 2025 at 5:30 pm
Friends Hall or via Zoom with Registration

Our Panel of Experts

Colleen Tambuscio, CHGS Pedagogy Programs Administrator
Brianna Doherty, Managing Director of the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education
Yasmine Beverly Raba, Local Teacher and Playwright
Moderated by CHGS Director Jacob Ari Labendz

Graduating senior, Stefanie Viera, presents her research on transitional justice after the Guatemalan Genocide—conducted with Dr. Labendz—to our roundtable.

Holocaust and genocide education are at a crossroads. CHGS has gathered three expert practitioners to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and future of Holocaust and genocide education in our region. We face multiple issues, including the inevitable passing of the survivor generation, a recent spike in antisemitism, the deployment of the Holocaust as a symbol in contests and debates over Israel, Palestine, and Gaza, and longstanding tensions regarding the status and legacies of the Holocaust as a singular, unique event of Jewish history or as human event with universal implications. CHGS continues to expand the services we offer to educators and schools in and beyond our region to help them navigate these waters. Please bring your questions!!!